By JANA METGE
Another successful Clean Sweep Event on October 14th celebrated it’s 20th year! 500 people participated beginning with a quick breakfast and coffee at the Welna Hardware parking lot where volunteers were assigned litter pick-up areas, given pick-up supplies, and 20th Year Clean Sweep T-Shirts; entertained by the music of a small brass band still available on several social media videos; check them out, they were fantastic!
compactor trucks. PHOTO: Somali TV
From 9:30 to noon, residents and groups of volunteers from organizations picked up litter in all four Phillips Community Neighborhoods – Ventura Village, Phillips West, Midtown Phillips, and East Phillips.
Phillips Community Clean Sweep pays for 6 Trucks staffed by Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling. One truck for each of the 4 neighborhoods and two speciality trucks. The trucks along with volunteers went through the alleys and streets picking up tires, appliances, mattresses, old furniture, electronics, and extra trash neighbors need to dispose of are picked up at no cost to them and thanks to this Event and its many Sponsors and Volunteers.
The Event ended with Lunch and a Resource Fair & Activities at Stewart Park.
Thanks to these individuals, businesses and organizations that gave donations of time, service, facilities, and labor and all the other Sponsors, too.
Welna Hardware for the Parking Lot staging area, Allina Health for breakfast, San Pablo Lutheran Church for coffee, Steve Sandberg for organizing the brass band, American Red Cross for organizing volunteers, Hennepin County Sentencing to Service for workers, Mpls Park and Recreation for Stewart Park use, Banyan Community Stewart Park Event organizing, lemonade and City TAPS for water, INVOLVEMN for lunch, Open Arms MN for desert, City Joy-of Bethlehem Baptist Church for serving lunch; AND all of the other Event Sponsors the 4 Neighborhoods, Wellington Management, Thrivent, DJR Architects, KRSM Community Radio, the alley newspaper, New American Youth Soccer Club, Somali TV, KALY Radio, KRSM Community Radio, Native American Cultural Development Institute/NACDI, City TAPS, Minneapolis Park Police, Minneapolis Police/3rd Precinct, MN Adult & Teen Challenge, Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling Dept., and Michele–Clean City Coordinator, everyone who presented at the Resource Fair, and Event volunteer staff– Joel, Amy, Donna, Pete, Jane, Brad, Nat, Steve, Michelle, Kali, and Jana–who meet weekly to put Clean Sweep together.
Phillips Community Clean Sweep began twenty years ago to build community, foster relationships, and community policing under the Federal & State Departments of Justice “Weed and Seed” Initiative; and will continue.
Mark your Calendar Now – 2024 – 2nd Saturday of October!
Here’s an interesting Back Story about three Phillips Clean Sweep 2023 participating organizations and a local, nationally recognized leader:
Involve MN is a Minnesota based non-profit collaboration of community, business, faith and government partners providing for the unsheltered and vulnerable people of the Minneapolis and St. Paul area that says, “We show up because we are a community and people matter. And we keep showing up because relationships are the key to changing lives.” Involve MN serves thousands of meals per week to people throughout Minneapolis needing food. Involve MN prepares food in a commercial kitchen at The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis, 410 Oak Grove, Mpls.
Also:
The Woman’s Club of Mpls. Executive Director, Kevin Winge, since September 2020, is familiar to Phillips and Clean Sweep Events from the years when he was the Executive Director of Open Arms MN from 1997 to 2011 during which time Open Arms moved from the Franklin Ave building which is now All My Relations Gallery, Native American Community Development Institute, and Pow Wow Grounds Coffee Shop to their new building at 2500 Bloomington Av. An excellent, informative, and inspiring video of Open Arms’ history is online including their opening of an additional facility campus in St. Paul at 380 East Lafayette Road in January of 2023.
Kevin Winge is a compassionate leader with over 25 years of experience in nonprofit organizations and humanitarian efforts. He is a values driven visionary known for ability to transform organizations. He is an inspirational orator and writer who inspires others to see things differently, embrace change, and contribute to something greater than themselves. He has a history of building community, creating diverse and welcoming environments and fostering collaboration.
Clean Sweep 2023 Stats!
33,380 Pounds Burnable Trash in Packer Trucks
Ventura Village 9,920
Phillips West 8,840
Midtown Phillips 3.860
East Phillips 11,160
15,880 Pounds Non-Burnable Trash
30 Mattresses, 20 TVs, 18 Tires, 8 Hide-beds, 13 appliances, 7 Microwaves, 80 pieces of Misc. Metal
Grand Total 49,260 pounds = 24.63 Tons
